Alloy & Carbon (Ribbles) the advantages?

snoopsmydogg

Been drooling over the Ribble site recently and will be planning a trip over there soon to check for bike fit unless I can find an lbs closer to home that stocks them.

Pretty much narrowed it down to the summer special Evo Pro Carbon or Ultralite Alloy models but not sure about the differences. There are lots of threads on here that state a good alloy frame is better than a cheap carbon but being quite new to all this I wouldnt know the difference between a cheap and good carbon frame to look at them.

Both models are similar spec for wheels & components (campag) although can probably get more smaller upgrades (seat post/stem etc.) on the Ultralite for the money.

Main use this year is fitness and distance although the more I ride the more i'm tempted to TT and possibly enter races in the future. It would be quite a long term investment as I dont have £££s to throw at a new bike every year and will keep the old bike for poor/winter weather riding.

So, is the evo pro a good frame that will last or am I better off going for the alloy? personally I prefer the looks of the UL and tbh I dont think I would feel the difference in the 2 frames but I just want a good bike that suits :?

rolf_f

snoopsmydogg wrote:

There are lots of threads on here that state a good alloy frame is better than a cheap carbon but being quite new to all this I wouldnt know the difference between a cheap and good carbon frame to look at them.

This is often said but nobody as far as I recall has ever managed to back the statement up with anything like evidence. Or even come up with any evidence to suggest that price and 'goodness' of a carbon frame are closely related (ie that cheap carbon frames are not as good as less cheap carbon frames). That said, there is some overwhelming love of the alloy Cannondale Caad9 on here which can't be down to imagined qualities

If you want to place a bet on which frame will fail first, the sensible money would go on the alloy frame every time but it's not likely to happen in a hurry anyway.

I have a carbon Ribble and most of its miles are on the commute - for about 9 months of the year on average (except this year which has been terrible!) - so it doesn't have a soft life. It's done a good 5000 miles so far without bother (though the frame has just now been replaced due to an unrelated issue).

snoopsmydogg

Cheers Rolf,

Which frame did you buy and what was the issue if you dont mind me asking?

alihisgreat

The Pro evo isn't a good frame....

This weeks Cycling Weekly gave it a 7/10 (read that as worst in test)

Its light and well spec'd... but you'll get a stiffer, better handling frame if you go for something else.

snoopsmydogg

is there a link to the review? have been trying to find reviews but they all seem to be around 2010

I know its a lot of personal preference but what frame would you recommend? Have already looked at boardman, spesh, cannondale, scott and a few others but in the price range all have been alloy and the scott was the best fit so far.

TMR

If you want a good aluminium bike, with significant race pedigree and not outrageous cost (relatively) I'd suggest you look at the Cannondale CAAD series of bikes. £1450 would buy a superbly capable frame and really decent group set and finishing kit.

The CAAD 10 may be more than you want to spend, but you can pay less and take a more basic set of wheels - have a look here though: http://www.epic-cycles.co.uk/Cannondale_CAAD10.html

You could also consider the CAAD 8 (you'll need to check the differences, I'm guessing the CAAD 8 frame may be slightly heavier and quality of wheels and finishing kit poorer, but it's around £500 cheaper). Have a look here: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/can ... e-ec031474

snoopsmydogg

cheers tried the CAAD8 a couple of months ago (+1 stone heavier) and didnt really suit at the time.

But if an alloy frame is going to be the better option the UL is 7005 or was looking at the BMC SR01 but there is no-one remotely local to check for those.

The UL spec was

7005 frame and carbon fork (alloy steerer)
Campag centaur grouset
Campag Khamsin Wheels
Deda Bars, stem and seatpost
Vittoria Rubino 3 tyres
Superlegga Saddle

all in less than £990

Could do similar with Shimano 105 (about a tenner less) but having never used campag i'm sorely tempted to give it a go.

Seems like a decent light enough frame but cant seem to find any reviews on it.

bmxboy10

Ok firstly i would stay away from the two Ribbles you have mentioned. If you can stretch to a Sportive, Gran Fondo or Stealth thats the way to go if you want a Ribble.

Like others have said the Alu / Carbon delimma will go on for ever and a day so if i were you and assuming your budget is sub £1000 i would be very quick and check out westbook cycles as they have the 105 Caad 8 for £799 at the moment and that is a great buy. Not sure why it didnt suit you perhaps the frame was too big (dales come up large). I would rather have the Caad than a cheepo Ribble anyday (stealth excluded!) It will also retain its value if/when you want to sell it on.

alihisgreat

snoopsmydogg wrote:

is there a link to the review? have been trying to find reviews but they all seem to be around 2010

I know its a lot of personal preference but what frame would you recommend? Have already looked at boardman, spesh, cannondale, scott and a few others but in the price range all have been alloy and the scott was the best fit so far.

£2.85 at your local newsagent/supermarket but i wouldn't recommend paying for it haha (Cycling weekly seems to have gone downhill recently).. They're not really full reviews though i basically summed it up:

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

Its light and well spec'd... but you'll get a stiffer, better handling frame if you go for something else.

Boardman Team 10/10
Ghost Race 4900 10/10
Cinelli Experience 9/10
Kuota Korsa Lite 9/10
Scott Speedster 8/10
BMC Streetracer SR01 8/10


I'd echo what's already been said and look at the Caad8 again... as well as suggesting the Giant Defy 1 -> I've got the Defy 1 and its superb... the Bikeradar review sums it up nicely http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-giant-defy-1-12-45849

snoopsmydogg

The BMC and Scott were already on my shortlist already except no-one local sells the SR01. I had thought about the Boardman Team but the staff were pretty u/s and unhelpful so walked out thinking i'll spend elsewhere.

Will go back to have a look at the CAAD bikes again, the store with the offer currently being posted around the forum isn't too far from me (30 miles or so) but I have an LBS in town that stocks the caad8 so will be good to check sizing.

I'm guessing the current status is forget alloy Ribble and go for an alloy framed mainstream bike if I want to keep the budget under £1k? Might still have a play with the figures and see if I can get the GF/stealth/sportive bike to fit.

rolf_f

Don't forget to check the Special Edition Ribble prices. All but the Nero and Scuro come in Campag form with a minimum price around or a little over the £1k mark.

alihisgreat

snoopsmydogg wrote:

I'm guessing the current status is forget alloy Ribble and go for an alloy framed mainstream bike if I want to keep the budget under £1k? Might still have a play with the figures and see if I can get the GF/stealth/sportive bike to fit.

Yeah, my concern with the Alu Ribble is lack of information available... you can bring up a few reviews quite easily for the mainstream bikes inc. Ribble's carbon bikes... but there is a big black hole when it comes to info on the Alu bikes

I think its a combination of two things:

-they are relatively old frames (and as such even if there were reviews.. they'd be outdated)
-not many people buy them because the carbon is such good 'value'


Therefore I'd personally prefer to buy something with plenty of info available, because you know what to expect, and can get the most performance for your money.. pretty much risk free.

centimani

While not wishing to diss Ribble, bearing in mind i have a Sportive carbon i'm VERY happy with and had very good service...i have read the alloy ultralights tubes are very thin (duh, to make them light)..and resultantly dont have a long life before they've had it, especially if you race or thrash them.
What constitutes a 'long life' i dont know, but someone, maybe more than one, wrote as such on another forum.